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^g    UPU    pn'=i 


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in  2008  with  funding  from 

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l/pt/WVUl-- 


PllIiYltki       'i     <ii    I'      i      T     'L^'if!f:VjMh.fvni-/>l / 


27 


PE5IO 

large  pulsating   aortic   arches.     These    arches   are   sometimes  MAt-fKi 
called  "primitive  hearts." 

These  experiments  were  performed  with  large  strong  worms 
desigoated  as  A.  B.  C.  The  temperature  was  raised  or  lowered 
as  seen  by  the  table  with  the  following  results: 

1.  Change  of  temperature  causes  great  irritability. 

2.  After  a  short  time  the  worm  becomes  accustomed  to 
change  of  temperature,  and  the  aortic  arches  tend  to  revert  to 
the  original  beat. 

See  specimen  A,  temperature  19°;  beats  14  16  14. 

A,  "  10°;       "      8  11  8. 

B,  "  W;      "      8  10  9J. 

3.  The  pulse  beats  with  greater  force  at  a  low  tempearture. 

4.  Tendency  to  same  rate  of  beat  in  same  temperature. 

5.  The  upper  limit  is  reached  at  85°,  when  the  pulsations 
cease. 

Table  Showing  Pulsations  in  the  Aortic  Akches  of  the 

earth.worm. 


Time. 

Tempera- 
ture C. 

Beats  per  minute. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

A.M. 

10.40 

ir 

14 

18 

20 

10.45 

19^ 

16 

16 

14 

10.52 

19= 

14 

14 

14 

11.15 

10° 

8 

8 

10 

11.20 

10' 

11 

10 

9 

11.30 

10° 

8 

9* 

9.V 

11.45 

5° 

7 

6 

6 

11.50 

5° 

7 

6 

6     ^ 

11.55 

5=^ 

7 

6 

6 

12.15 

12° 

11+ 

12 

10 

12.35 

22° 

26 

22 

19 

12.50 

29° 

28 

26 

30 

p.  M. 

1.07 

35° 

0 

0 

0 

411404 


•  •   •  • 


•  •«•-••      • 

e     •     •    •    ••    •       • 

«  •       •    •,    •    •       • 

.         .'. 

•  e  •  «      •  • 

(  •    ••  « 


a.1'^ 


DIALECTICAL  STUDIES  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA. 


BY  SYLYESTER  PRIMER. 


In  studying  the  language  or  pronunciation  of  any  section  of 
the  country,  it  is  necessary  first  of  all  to  trace  back  the  history 
of  the  people  inhabiting  it  to  the  earliest  beginnings  in  order 
to  explain  understandingly  the  dialectical  peculiarities  of  its 
grammar  or  pronunciation.  I  shall,  therefore,  preface  my 
remarks  on  the  linguistical  peculiarities  of  this  region  with  a 
brief  sketch  of  its  earliest  settlement  and  later  development. 

The  early  history  of  Western  Virginia,  now  known  as  West 
Virginia,  begins  a  century  later  than  that  of  Eastern  Virginia, 
or  Virginia  proper.  In  1710  Alexander  Spotswood,  a  Scotch- 
man, was  the  deputy-governor  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia..  In 
1716  he  "gathered  a  party  of  the  choice  spirits  of  the  Old 
Dominion,  and  set  out  on  an  exploration  of  the  country  beyond 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  AUeghanies,  advancing  as  far  as  the  fertile 
fields  of  Kentucky. "  As  far  as  we  know,  he  was  "  the  first 
white  man  to  enter  the  Great  Valley,  which  Avas  soon  thereafter 
occupied  by  large  numbers  of  Scottish,  and  some  German  and 
English  settlers."  In  1774  Virginia  purchased  from  the  ludians 
the  right  to  make  settlements  to  the  Ohio,  and  built  a  fort 
where  Pittsburg  now  stands.  In  1752  Robert  Dinwiddle,  then 
deputy-governor  of  Virginia,  began  active  relations  with  the 
great  western  country.  "  He  encouraged  trade  and  exploration 
with  this  region,  and  the  Virginia  traders  swarmed  across  the 
mountains  to  traffic  with  the  Indians,  and  there  met  with  the 
French,  which  finally  led,  as  you  remember,  to  the  attack  on 
Fori  Duquesne  (now  Pittsburg)  and  Braddock's  defeat  At 
about  this  time  the  Ohio  Company  of  Virginia  began  to  take 


Dialectical  Studies  in  West  Virginia.  29 

steps  to  settle  the  western  region,  and  encouragement  was  given 
both  before  and  after  the  revolutionary  war  to  settlers  in  this 
region."  In  1738  Augusta  was  the  frontier  county,  and  then 
extended  westward  indefinitely.  To  the  north  lie  Kockingham, 
Shenandoah  and  Frederick  counties.  Nearly  all  this  region  was 
settled  by  Germans  and  Swedes.  "A  Swedish  congregation 
was  here  collected,  and  the  Eev.  Peter  Muhlenburg,  son  of  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Muhlenburg,  father  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in 
America,  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  it."  To  the  south  lie 
Eockbridge,  Botetourt  and  Montgomery  counties.  Botetourt 
became  in  1769  the  western  frontier.  From  here  the  emigrants 
pushed  forward  to  the  westward,  and  soon  settled  the  whole  of 
what  is  mow  West  Virginia. 

History  tells  us  that  the  Presbyterians  were  first  in  this  field, 
and  the  fact  that  the  people  are  of  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish 
descent  would  lead  to  the  same  conclusion.  But  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  a  greater  part  of  the  population  of  West  Virginia 
were  emigrants  from  Maryland  and  Virginia.  A  comparison  of 
the  names  also  will  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  national  charac- 
teristics of  the  inhabitants,  and  show  whether  there  has  been 
an  intermixture  of  outside  elements  with  the  original  settlers. 
However,  too  great  stress  should  not  be  placed  on  mere  names, 
as  they  might  not  always  show  the  true  nationality  of  the  section 
from  which  their  bearers  came.  Yet  they  are  not  to  be  dis- 
carded altogether,  but  must  be  taken  into  account  in  dialectical 
studies.  They  wil]  show  approximately  whether  the  population 
has  remained  pure  from  the  earliest  times.  On  examining  the 
names  of  the  vestrymen  of  the  earliest  Episcopalian  churches 
of  this  region,  my  only  source  of  information,  I  find  among  the 
settlers  from  Eastern  Virginia  such  names  as  Ballenger,  Maury, 
Burton,  Scott,  Eucker,  Godwin,  Taliafero,  Cabell,  etc.  Among 
the  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  names  can  be  mentioned  Bal- 
maire,  Quarrier,  Dunlap,  etc.,  while  Bittenger,  Swearingen, 
Muhlenburg,  show  a  sprinkling  of  German  and  Swedish  names. 
The  names  of  the  present  day  afford  the  same  testimony  and 


30  Colorado  College  Studies. 

show  tliat  the  earliest  settlers  are  fairly  well  represented  by  the 
present  inhabitants.  I  am  well  aware,  as  above  remarked,  that 
this  is  not  always  a  safe  guide,  but  may,  like  tradition,  some- 
times mislead;  still,  in  lieu  of  a  better  one  it  renders  tolerably 
efficient  service. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  these  settlements  the  educational  advan- 
tages were  naturally  slight,  but  later  the  conditions  for  educa- 
tion were  about  the  same  as  those  described  in  my  article  on 
the  Pronunciation  of  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  printed  in  the  Publi- 
cations of  the  Modern  Language  Association  of  America,  Vol.  5, 
p.  188ff.  In  the  same  article  (pp.  192-195 )  I  have  compiled  two 
Vowel  Tables,  one  representing  the  vowel  sounds  of  the  Vir- 
ginia English  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  other  the 
vowel  sounds  of  to-day.  In  the  present  article  I  shall  con- 
stantly refer  to  them. 

I  will  here  begin  with  the  vowel  a  as  heard  in  father  (Sweet's 
mid-back-wide).*  Here,  as  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  we  find  the 
clearer,  lighter  sound  of  a  as  in  calm,  psalm,  palm,  half,  etc. 
The  other  sound  of  these  words  {i.  e.,  koeoem,  sceoem,  pceoem, 
hoeoef,  etc.,  that  is,  Sweet's  low-front-wide)  is  heard,  though  less 
frequently  than  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  or  in  Charleston,  S.  C. 
This  sound  of  a  in  father  (raid-back-wide)  is  also  very  common 
in  words  like  ask,  demand,  pass,  trespass,  etc.,  though  the  ten- 
dency to  the  palatal  a  is  strong.  The  two  words  ant  and  aunt 
are  both  generally  pronounced  (cent,  that  is,  low-front-wide), 
though  the  latter  is  often  pronounced  ( aant,  that  is,  mid-back- 
wide).  The  same  remark  applies  to  words  like  gaunt,  haunt, 
jaunt,  etc.,  where  Sweet's  low-front-wide  (=  a  in  man)  is 
commonly  heard,  thus  (gceoent,  Hoeoent,  Dzhceoent,  etc).  Oc- 
casionally one  hears  the  mid-back- wide  (=  a  in  father);  that  is 
phonetically  represented  (gaant,  Haant,  Dzhaant),  but  I  have 
never    heard    Sweet's    low-back-narrow-round  ( =    a    in    law; 

*  The  signs  of  Sweet's  Primer  of  Phonetics  are  used  in  this  article, 
except  in  quotations. 


Dialectical  Studies  in  West  Virginia.  31 

gAAnt,  HAAnt,  Dzh AAnt,  etc. )  Among  all  classes  here,  and 
especially  among  the  uneducated,  the  mid-back-wide  sound  of  a 
is  retained  in  a  large  class  of  words  where  it  either  reflects  the 
older  pronunciation  or  shows  the  influence  of  the  negro  ele- 
ment. The  negro  is  very  fond  of  this  a-sound,  but  I  am  in 
doubt  whether  it  is  natural  to  him  or  whether  he  may  not  have 
acquired  it  in  early  times  from  the  whites  themselves  and  re- 
tained it  pure  and  uninfluenced  by  the  change  which  this  vowel 
has  undergone  in  the  progress  of  the  language,  just  as  the  Irish 
have  retained  the  older  pronunciation  of  English.  According  to 
EUlis,  E.  E.  P.,  this  was  the  usual  sound  of  the  vowel  a  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  In  this  list  we  find  words  like  clear,  pair, 
there,  where,  fair,  learn,  prepare,  queer,  hear,  square,  were, 
rearguard,  search,  swear,  etc.,  in  all  of  which  the  mid- 
back-wide  is  heard  (klaar,  paar,  dhaar,  whaar,  etc.);  we  sel- 
dom hear  the  low-front- narrow  (dhaer,  etc.)  as  in  Charleston, 
S.  C,  but  more  usually  the  low-front-wide  (=  a  in  man), 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  sound  is  midway  between 
the  low-front- wide  and  the  low-front-narrow.  The  negro 
pronunciation  of^  here  is  (^Hj'ar).  Among  the  white  popu- 
lation two  pronunciations  obtain:  both  ('ji'r)  and  ('ja'r)  are 
common. 

Under  Sweet's  mid-front- wide  (our  e  in  mei,  either  long  or 
short)  we  must  class  one  peculiarity  not  yet  noticed  elsewhere, 
though  found  in  England,  viz.,  the  pronunciation  of  the  word 
make  as  mek,  that  is,  mid-front-wide  instead  of  mid-front- 
narrow.  In  the  17th  century  we  find  the  same  sound  in  Eng- 
land in  the  words  main  (meen),  major  (meedzhar),  mayor 
{meev),  naked  (neeked),  nature  (neetwr).  Dryden  has  pains  of 
hell  (peenz  of  Hel)  and  {mee)  for  may.  Garth  has  distress 
rhyming  with  place  (plees).  In  the  16th  century  this  word 
make  was  pronounced  (maak),  that  is.  Sweet's  mid-back-wide 


32  Colorado  College  Studies. 

as  we  see  in  Shakespeare's  Henry  VIII.,  in  tlie  speech  of  Car- 
dinal Woolsey  to  Cromwell: 

Neglect  him  not;  make  use  now  and  provide 
Eor  thine  own  future  safety. 

which  according  to  Ellis,  E.  E.  P.,  3,991,  is  to  be  pronounced 
Neglekt  Him  not;  maak  yys  nau  and  provaid 
For  dhain  oouu  fyytyyr  saaft^. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  form  is  macian  where  this  vowel  has  the 
short  sound  of  a  in  father^  that  is.  Sweet's  mid-back-wide.  In 
Mid.  Eng.  the  form  is  still  makien  and  retains  this  mid-back- 
wide  sound.  But  in  1766  Buchanan  in  his  conjectured  pronun- 
ciation of  Shakespeare  has:  "  Meed  tu  Hiz  m/stris  aibrau,  and 
Kenrick,  1773,  giving  the  pronunciation  of  the  same  passage 
has:  "  Meed  too  H?*z  mistris  aibrau."  Both  agree  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  (meed)  for  made,  so  that  this  mid-front-wide 
sound  of  a  in  the  verb  make  must  have  obtained  in  England  to 
some  extent  in  the  18th  century.  Benjamin  Franklin,  also,  in 
his  remarks  on  pronunciation  in  1768  indicates  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  makes  as  (meeks).  I  am  also  informed  that  in  at  least 
two  counties  of  England,  Lancashire  and  Derby,  the  pronun- 
ciation (meek)  is  still  heard. 

The  character  e  in  the  word  well  has  a  sound  between  Sweet's 
mid-back-wide  {father)  and  low-front- wide  {man),  but  inclin- 
ing to  the  latter  (wt>l),  possibly  Sweet's  low-back- wide,  Swed. 
mat.  The  word  ancient  belongs  also  to  this  class  as  it  is  here 
often  pronounced  (anshent)  Sweet's  mid-back-wide  again.  In 
addition  to  the  two  pronunciations  (agen,  agenst)  and  (ageen, 
ageenst)  we  find  the  pronunciation  {agin,  agmst),  though  only 
as  vulgarisms.  Foment  {fornenst,  pr.  frnent)  may  have  led  to 
the  pronunciation  of  (bi-jent). 

Sweet's  mid-back-narrow  {but)  is  very  common  to  this 
region.  It  is  what  Sweet  and  Ellis  call  the  American  sound  of 
the  u  in  but,  not  the  English.  Here  belong  words  like  took, 
look,  cook,  shook,  book  { ?),  put,  and  others,  all  of  which  have  nearly 
the  sound  of  our  u  in  but    A  sound  between  Sweet's  mid-mixed- 


Dialectical  Studies  in  West  Virginia.  33 

ivide-round  (o,  Fr.  homme)  and  his  higli-mixed-wide-round  (ti. 
Swed.  t4pp),is  heard  in  couldy  would,  should;  in  cool,  good, 
school,  ivho,  though  preceded  by  the  i-umschla^  (kittd,  wiwd, 
shiwd;  kitd,  skiwl,  Hiu).  I  hardly  know  whether  this  sound  is 
to  be  attributed  to  the  Scotch  element  among  the  early  settlers 
or  not.  It  certainly  comes  very  near  the  Scotch  sound  as  heard 
,  in  guide  (gi«d).  It  is,  however,  possible  that  it  developed  on 
this  soil  independently  of  the  Scotch  influence.  This  pronun- 
ciation is  also  peculiar  to  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  and  is  heard  in 
various  places  in  the  state  of  South  Carolina.  In  the  Upland 
region  we  have  also  a  Scotch  influence  to  some  extent,  so  that 
even  here  it  may  be  due  to  this  element.  I  have  noticed  it  more- 
over in  other  localities  in  the  pronunciation  of  individual  people. 
This  sound  of  ii  in  bid  is  often  heard  in  fche  pronunciation  of 
careless,  thus  (karles).  Care  itself  is  often  pronounced  either 
(kir)  but  more  often  however  (kear).  Here  belongs  also  that 
peculiar  pronunciation  of  room  (rium)  and  iomh  in  rhyme  with 
perfume  {iium.,  parfittm). 

In  studying  the  pronunciation  of  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  I 
noticed  two  cases  of  the  short  (i)  in  the  words  (hill)  and  (mill). 
In  West  Yirginia  I  found  another  example  of  the  same  sound 
in  an  individual  pronunciation  of  the  preposition  In  (iin).  The 
word  ear  is  often  pronounced  (jiir  or  even  (jar).  Mischief  is 
accented  on  the  ultima  and  pronounced  (mistshilf).  The  past 
participle  of  hear  is  pronounced  either  (Hiirn  or  Harn;  or 
Hiird  or  Hard),  according  to  the  form  used.  The  sound  {i) 
and  {e)  are  often  interchangeable,  as  (led)  for  lid,  (red)  for 
rid,  (ef )  for  if',  (git)  for  get,  (j/t)  for  yei,  (jistardef)  for  yester- 
day, (kitl)  for  kettle.  To  these  we  may  add  (dzhinereshan)  for 
generation,  ( sper it )  for  spirit,  ( resen'kshan )  for  reserection.  The 
word  muskmelon  is  here  often  pronounced  (maskmiljan),  which 
pronunciation  goes  back  as  far  as  1685;  for  Cooper,  in  his  list  of 
words  like  and  unlike,  gives  melon,  melo,  million,  1,000,000  sive 
centum  myriades,  which  would  indicate  that  the  two  words  were 
nearly  alike  in  sound.     In  miracle  the  i-sound  often  follows  the 


34  Colorado  College  Studies. 

analogy  of  vowels  before   r    and  we    hear  not    infrequently 
(marikl). 

I  feel  convinced  that  we  hear  the  open  o-sound  (Sweet's  mid- 
mixed-wide-round  =0,  Fr.  encore)  in  the  word  poor  (pr.  poor), 
and  we  also  hear  the  long  o-sound  (Sweet's  mid-back-narrow- 
round  =0,  Germ,  so;  pr.  poor).  1?he  former  is  the  same  sound 
we  often  hear  in  the  last  syllable  of  felloiu  and  follow,  though 
the  latter  is  the  more  common  sound.  The  two  words  horn  and 
home  are  both  pronounced  alike  ( b^rn ).  Forward  is  frequently 
pronounced  (farard).  The  words  only  and  onhitch  (unhitch) 
belong  here,  as  they  are  often  pronounced  (on-h',  on-hitsh). 

I  can  here  repeat  my  remarks  on  the  diphthongs  in  my 
article  on  the  pronunciation  of  Fredericksburg,  Ya.  "  The 
sound  (au,  as  in  German  Haus)  is  heard  among  a  select  few  in 
house,  now,  etc.,  though  the  usual  pronunciation  is  here  (eu), 
never  (eu).  This  latter  diphthong  (eu)  is  long  (eeu)  in  towHy 
coiu  and  some  other  words,  and  short  (eu)  in  most  words,  as 
house,  out,  ahout,  south,  pound,  etc.  Often  (EEe)  is  heard  in- 
stead of  long  (eeu),  and  (Ee)  instead  of  short  (eu).  The  diph- 
thong (iu)  is  very  common  and  the  first  element  is  often  length- 
ened (iiu).  Sometimes,  however,  the  vanish  is  prolonged  (iu^  ). 
Instead  of  (iu),  (m)  is  often  heard,  especially  among  the  lower 
classes.  Fruit  may  be  classed  here  also,  or  the  sound  often 
comes  nearer  the  Swedish  u  in  hus  (frlJt),  or  (yw).  The  same 
sound  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  people  from  the  middle  and  upper 
parts  of  South  Carolina."  The  diphthong  (ai)  is  often  changed 
to  (oi),  as  in  title  (toitl).  On  the  other  hand  (oi)  often  be- 
comes (ai),  as  hoil  {hail),  joint  (dzhaint),  etc.,  but  this  is  a  vul- 
garism common  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  word  eive 
(jiu)  has  frequently  the  pronunciation  (joo),  a  pronunciation 
very  common  in  Western  New  York.  We  also  find  (rai-at)  for 
(rait),  that  is,  right. 

The  consonants  offer  a  few  peculiarities.  The  h  is  often  fol- 
lowed by  they-sound  in  the  word  here  (Hjeer);  in  this  case  the 
h  frequently  becomes  silent,  or  rather  a  mere  breathing  ('jeer). 


Dialectical  Studies  in  West  Virginia.  Sb- 

W  is  exchanged  for  v  in  very  (weri)  and  a  few  other  words. 
The  r  is  heard  here  more  than  in  other  parts  of  Yirginia,  but  is 
often  silent  when  final.  We  occasionally  hear  (kjart,  gjardn, 
etc.),  but  not  so  commonly  as  in  Yirginia  proper  oy  in  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.  After  s  a  Hs  often  added,  as  close,  pr.  dost.  The  g 
disappears  in  words  like  length,  strength,  etc.,  which  are  pro- 
nounced (lenth  and  strenth,  etc.).  The  /  between  the  s  and  I  of 
words  like  apostle,  epistle,  etc.,  is  sounded. 

The  accent  of  words  is  often  changed,  either  as  a  general 
rule  or  by  individuals.  Idea  frequently  has  the  accent  on  the 
first  syllable  (aid?,  or  aldie).  Mischief  often  transfers  the 
accent  to  the  last  syllable  (mistschiif ),  though  this  is  considered 
a  vulgarism.  Difficulty  sometimes  has  the  accent  on  the  ante- 
penult (di-f/k-al-t?).  Trespasses  sometimes  takes  the  accent  on 
the  penultimate  (tres-pad-sez).  Contrary,  when  it  means  per- 
verse, froward,  wayward,  always  has  the  accent  on  the  penulti- 
mate (k/^ntre^rz).  Elizabeth  often  has  the  principal  accent 
on  the  ultima  (IKzEb^TH).  Geihsemane  is  often  accented 
(Geth-se-me6n). 

Turning  to  the  grammatical  peculiarities  we  find  the  great- 
est variety  in  the  verb.  The  tendency  here  is  to  form  peculiar 
past  tenses  and  past  participles.  Often  one  is  exchanged  for 
the  other  without  any  apparent  reason.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  the  irregular  verbs.  The  following  list  contains  alt 
those  which  I  have  observed: 


1. 

Blow 

blowd 

blowd 

2. 

Climb 

climm  or  clomb 

climm  or  clomb 

3. 

Fight 

fit 

fit 

4. 

Freeze 

frozed 

frozed 

5. 

Hear 

(Hiird),(Hiirn),(Harn 

)  (Hiird)  heard 

6. 

Heat 

het 

het 

7. 

Help 

helped  (holp,  pr.  Hop) 

helped  (holp) 

8. 

Know 

knowd 

knowd 

9. 

Hide 

rid 

rid 

10. 

,  See 

saw  (seen,  see,  seed) 

seen  (seed,  saw) 

11. 

,  Take 

took  (taken) 

taken  (took) 

"36  Colorado  College  Studies. 

I  find  also  a  few  lexicographical  peculiarities  which  I  shall 
give  promiscuously,  as  it  is  not  possible  to  arrange  them  in  any 
definite  order.  Reverent  is  used  in  the  sense  of  genuine, 
thorough,  as  a  reverent  scolding,  that  is  a  thorough  scolding. 
Satisfactual  is  a  vulgarism  for  satisfactory.  Shoot  is  very  com- 
mon for  shot,  as  "  he  made  a  good  shoot."  Arter  for  after  is 
■common  all  over  the  land.  Bold  is  used  in  the  sense  of  strong, 
vigorous,  as  a  hold  spring  is  one  whose  waters  bubble  up 
strongly.  A  hunch  of  cattle,  is  the  only  proper  expression  here 
in  the  West,  but  I  never  heard  it  in  the  East  except  in  West 
Virginia.  Webster's  International,  and  the  other  dictionaries 
do  not  give  this  meaning  for  the  word,  though  the  Century  gives 
a  hunch  of  ducks.  May  not  this  meaning  have  started  in  West 
Virginia  and  passed  to  the  West?  Gradjate  and  sosation  are 
vulgarisms. 

An  amusing  popular  etymology  is  found  in  the  name  of  one 
•of  the  valleys  on  Indian  Greek.  It  is  knowm  as  the  Tuckahoe 
valley,  and  takes  its  name  from  the  Indian  tribe  of  that  name, 
or  it  is  at  least  an  Indian  name.  The  people  living  in  this 
Talley  are  of  the  lowest  class,  and  have  a  peculiar  dialect  of 
which  I  have  already  noticed  the  most  prominent  features.  Not 
being  able  to  explain  the  word  Tuckahoe  they  have  based  the 
derivation  on  the  peculiar  pronunciation  of  the  past  participle 
of  take  (took,  p.  tak),  and  ahoe  is  then  made  to  mean  a  hoe, 
"he  took  a  hoe."  To  this  derivation  the  following  legend  has 
been  attached:  An  inhabitant  of  this  valley  once  became  so  poor 
that  he  was  at  last  reduced  to  stealing,  and  he  tooJc  a  hoe,  that  is, 
;stole  a  hoe.  This  will  compare  favorably  with  the  English  cor- 
ruption of  the  name  of  the  ship  Hirondelle  into  Iron  Devil,  or 
the  route  du  roi  into  Rotten  Row,  or  Bellerophon  into  Bidly 
Ruffian,  etc. 

Kitiering  means  toppling,  afore  stands  for  before,  transits 
means,  not  transits  of  the  planets,  but  transient  guests  at  a 
hotel.  One  minister,  a  hardshell  baptist,  or  Ironsides  as  they 
■call  this  sect  there,  spoke  of  the  texes  from  which  he  preached 


Dialectical  Studies  in  West  Virginia.  37* 

his  sermon.  I  need  not  add  that  he  was  from  Tuckahoe  valley. 
Slick  is  used  in  the  sense  of  slippery,  heegum  is  used  for  bee^ 
hive.  The  Century  Dictionary  gives  the  word;  it  was  at  first 
the  body  of  the  gum  tree  hollowed  out  and. used  for  bees.  A 
larger  section,  hollowed  out  in  the  same  way,  is  used  for  a  grain 
receptacle,  and  is  called  a  gum.  A  band  of  music  is  called 
musicioners.  In  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  I  found  this  summer  the- 
word  burr  meaning  gherkin,  and  have  not  yet  been  able  to  dis- 
cover any  explanation  of  it.  The  name  may  have  some  connec- 
tion with  burr-weed,  though  I  doubt  it.  Optionary  is  an  indi- 
vidualism for  optional,  though  having  the  force  of  capricious. 
Pert  (pr.  piirt)  is  used  in  the  sense  o£  ivell,  as  I  am  feeling 
right  pert  to-day. 

The  region  is  full  of  peculiar  expressions,  and  the  careful 
collector  would  be  well  repaid  for  his  trouble.  Like  the 
proverbs,  the  quaint  sayings,  the  peculiar  expressions  of  a 
nation  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  its  history,  and  give  a 
better  insight  into  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  a  people 
than  long  years  of  its  civil  history.  Often  thoughts  of  ages  are 
crystallized  in  such  expressions  and  the  study  of  intellectual 
growth  and  civilization  of  a  nation  cannot  be  pursued  more 
effectively  than  by  collecting  and  classifying  its  apothegms. 
But  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  so  deeply  into  the  subject, 
as  I  have- given  most  of  my  time  to  the  peculiarities  of  pronun- 
ciation and  grammar.  Besides,  it  would  require  years  of  study 
to  collect  all  these  expressions  and  put  them  in  their  proper 
order.  I  shall  here  select  only  a  few  of  the  most  amusing  and 
peculiar  ones  to  show  you  what  a  rich  field  for  such  researches 
this  section  of  the  country  affords. 

A  right  smart  lilile  bit  is  extremely  common,  and  right  smart 
seemingly  may  find  a  place  beside  it.  /  had  laid  out  to  go  to  the 
Dunkards  to-night  is  a  not  infrequent  expression;  of  the  same 
signification  are  to  go  to  do  and  to  aim  to  do.  Let  on  is  common 
nearly  in  the  whole  country;  and  so  is  to  get  shet  (shut)  of.  I 
J  eel  like  she  did  not  do  it  meaning  I  think  she  did  not  do  it  is 


.38  Colorado  College  Studies. 

often  heard  among  all  classes  of  people.  Some  of  the  more 
amusing  ones  are:  I  feel  rather  dauncy  meaning  I  feel  rather 
poorly.  Again  we  have  a  popular  derivation  for  dauncy,  which 
is  rather  more  expressive  than  elegant.  I  have  been  told 
soberly  by  different  ones  that  it  is  a  contraction  of  damn  sick. 
The  dictionaries  give  no  information  on  the  subject.  As  an 
•explanation  of  this  word  I  would  suggest,  though  with  great 
hesitation,  the  French  word  dancetie,  or  the  more  common  form 
is  danch6  {dench6),  from  which  we  have  in  English  the  two 
words  dancett6  and  dancy.  The  great  trouble  is  with  the  mean- 
ing. Both  words  are  terms  of  heraldry,  descriptive  of  escutcheons 
having  the  edge  or  outlioe  broken  into  large  and  wide  zigzags. 
The  real  meaning  of  the  word  is  indented,  and  it  probably  stands 
for  denie.  Possibly  the  idea  of  being  broken  or  notched  like  the 
teeth  of  a  saw  may  have  been  applied  figuratively  to  physical 
nature  and  would  certainly  have  as  much  sense  as  the  broke  hone 
ever  so  common  in  malarial  districts,  and  so  dreaded.  The 
most  amusing  expressions,  however,  were  those  heard  in  an 
Ironside  sermon.  But  it  would  be  impossible  to  reproduce 
them  as  they  would  lose  their  flavor  if  not  delivered  by  the 
jninister  in  person. 

Often  these    expressions    are   of   grammatical   nature   and 
"deserve  a  careful   study.     Here  are  several  of  that  character: 
Would  you  rather  have  this  as  that?  though  I  have  heard  as 
used  for  that  after  the  conjunction  than  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.     A  good  old  construction  is  retained  in  the  following: 
With  the  blood  a-runniii'  down  his  side.     This  corresponds  to, 
he  lay  a-dying,  etc.     Another  (bible)  construction  is  retained  in 
this:  They  looked  for  to  see  him  die  every  day.     For  to  instead 
of  to  is  now  obselete.     The  double  comparative  is  not  infrequent 
liere.     I  noted  more  pleasanter  on  several  occasions.     In  ex- 
pressions of  weather  I  find  the  following  in  my  note-book:  To 
Jair  off  meaning  to  clear  off;  to  have  a  cloud  meaning  to  have  a 
shower. 


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